Playing to Win: The Family Dixon
by QuasiOuster
Summary: AU Non-zombie. A series of vignettes in the Playing to Win universe centered around an afternoon of typical chaos for Daryl, Michonne and their kids.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead franchise, nor do I receive or expect any profit from my antics. However, Marietta and Sydney are all mine.**_

_**Here's another writing exercise for y'all. Although it comes later in the story, the whole thing was inspired by Lexlady's and Jacqui Kennedy's request to see Merle interacting with Daryl and Michonne's kids (JK, unfortunately, you're going to have to wait a while longer for a proper Richonne story to pop up, although I have some ideas…ones you may or may not get mad at me about). **_

_**This one is rough around the edges but I didn't want to devote a whole lot of time to it so hopefully we can all make do. Nevertheless, your feedback is always welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading! **_

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Michonne stood half-dressed in front of the bathroom sink. She finished up the last of her flossing as the final cloud of steamy fog disappeared from the mirror.

Glancing at the wall clock, she decided to spend a little extra time getting ready. She had a good hour before they needed to pack up the trucks and get on their way, Daryl and the kids out to the garage so he could finish up a couple of things before their weekend camping trip, and she to run a few last-minute errands as well.

Everyone was looking forward to the weekend, even Andre who'd been attached at the hip to his new girlfriend for the last month and a half. Marietta had kept her eagerness in check so far, excited because she'd helped Daryl with a lot of the planning. A total Daddy's Girl, that one. Sydney remained happy to go anywhere that her family went as long as she got to run around and play. Always in his element when they were out in the woods, Daryl couldn't wait to get her and the kids far away from afterschool activities, garage finances and mundane household chores. It was their last big outing during the kids' final few weeks of school. The girls would start summer camp soon afterwards, and Andre would be spending a month-long vacation with his dad.

Michonne couldn't deny her own anticipation too at getting to spend so much uninterrupted leisure time with her family.

As she propped her leg up to rub lotion along her limbs, a click of the bathroom door caught her attention. She frowned, ready to fuss at Sydney for not knocking. For whatever reason, her youngest daughter had been feeling very attached to her lately and had taken to following her everywhere, including into the bathroom if the mood suited her. But instead, Daryl slipped inside, casual expression turning to a playful leer when he saw what he'd walked in on. He did have a thing about her legs.

"Looks like I got here just in time."

Michonne laughed. "Don't you start, Dixon. We've got a busy day."

Stepping into the closet momentarily to put something on the shelf, he returned to the sink area to put his arms around her from behind.

"Maybe I can help you out then. You can spare your man a few minutes, can't ya? Them kids of ours are gon' keep us busy all weekend. This might be the last time for a while that we get to fool around." He nuzzled into her to enjoy her clean scent and then kissed her behind the ear. She only wore her bra and panties; the clothes she'd chosen were draped across the shelf by the closet. Daryl's fingers traced across her stomach before reaching around to caress her arms. As she returned the lotion to the counter, he'd moved to trail kisses along her neck and shoulder.

"A few minutes? Those are some low expectations, old man." The breath from his chuckle tickled her skin.

"There'll be plenty 'a time for the whole show when we get back. Don't need more than a few minutes for what I got in mind." True to his word, he hadn't tried to escalate anything, he simply enjoyed their closeness. "'Sides, Andre an' Sydney are busy gettin' the last 'a the stuff from the garage, and Etta's repacking her and Syd's backpacks. They aint worried 'bout what we're doin' in here." He pulled at the strap of her bra. "You gon' wear this on the trip?" It was one of her nicer bras, all silk and lace and vibrant color. "Aint the most practical thing I've seen on ya." As he fiddled with the soft strap, he let his other hand trace along the band of her matching panties. A couple of fingers found their way along the bare skin of her hip.

"I can change if you think it's inappropriate. You _are_ the expert on all things outdoors."

Slipping a strap further down her shoulder, he kissed her once more there. "Mmm, don't you dare."

She laughed and turned around to slip her hands around his neck. "You make a good point about our lack of privacy this weekend. And I can't have you thinking I'm neglecting you." As he held her, she brought his head down for a kiss.

They made out for a few minutes in the balmy heat of the bathroom, the cooler air outside rapidly finding its way in. When Michonne's hands went for the button on his pants, Daryl pulled away.

Michonne flashed him a mock scowl. "Now who's being a tease?" She might have to make him pay for waltzing into the bathroom, getting her all riled up and then leaving her hanging. She reached for his waistband again and pulled him flush against her.

"What happened to 'don't start, Dixon, we got a busy day'?" He removed her hands from his pants and intertwined their fingers instead.

"That was before you walked in here and started all this trouble." She used his solid body to leverage herself, pushing him backwards until she had him pinned against the now closed door. "Looks like I'm gonna have to get on you for it."

He groaned as she reached under his worn work-shirt to scrape her fingertips across his naked chest. "Babe, I love payback as much as the next guy but we really don't have time."

Grinning up at him, she leaned in and nipped him along his chin. Her hips pressed into him. "Don't we?"

His sharp intake of breath satisfied the lust he'd stirred up in her; she almost laughed as she felt his hands along her backside reaching to grind her into him, the move almost instinctive. Instead of backing her up to the sink again, he turned them around so that she was now pinned against the bathroom door.

"Might wanna be careful what ya ask for. All these years you been puttin' up with me and I still gotta remind ya."

"I'm a slow learner. Get over it." She shifted so he could wrap himself more fully around her, urging him to show her what he had in mind. In return, he devoured her mouth to make his point clear. They undulated and tasted and explored as their silent breaths steamed up the bathroom once more. Michonne again reached for his pants and this time he didn't stop her.

That's when the banging started.

It went on for a few reverberations before transitioning into a knock and then turning into a rattle on the doorknob. Thankfully, Daryl's weight against her as she leaned on the door kept it closed.

"Mama," Sydney whined. "Mama, I need you."

Daryl groaned at her ear and she felt really bad for him judging by its strangled tone. Taking a few moments to rest her head against his shoulder and normalize her breathing, she got her frustration under control enough to respond.

"Syd, remember we talked about this. Do you _really_ need me or can you wait until I'm done getting ready?" Daryl snickered into her ear as he tried to calm himself down too.

The little girl stopped trying to open the door and considered the question. "No, I need you for real this time. Dre said to come get you 'cause we can't find my sleepin' bag."

Michonne winced at her explanation. So Andre had sent her. This did indeed sound like a 'Mama' issue.

"Why don't you go ask your sister, Squirrel?" Daryl said. "She knows where all the stuff is too."

"Papa?" Even with such a little voice, she made the question sound accusatory. "What are you doin' in there with Mama? Can I come in too?"

In his current state, that wouldn't be the best idea in the world. Their whole encounter had become incredibly awkward, yet Michonne always found this predicament funny, whether or not she felt bad for her frustrated husband. And with three kids, they'd run up on this scenario quite a few times. She couldn't suppress her chuckles despite Daryl's I-Told-You-So glare.

"Papa's helping me get ready. Go check with your sister, and then you and your brother look again.

Another pause as Sydney considered whether it was worth it to push her luck or just do as she'd been told. Daryl added, "We'll come down when we're done, Squirrel." Michonne grabbed his ass and he swatted her hand away with a grin.

"Okay. But can we go soon? I wanna ride my bike at Papa's shop before we go to the lake, and Uncle Merle is gonna be there too and he's gonna show me where the deer family is. And Etta's gonna practice her crossbow and she said I can watch but Papa's gotta watch too and he can't watch if he doesn't work first and—"

"Sydney." Michonne's interruption was stern but kind. "We'll hurry up so you can go play sooner. But be a good girl and go find your sleeping bag like I asked."

"Okay." The last of the word trailed off as she had already turned and wandered out of the room to go find her sister.

Daryl stepped away from her and took a few more deep breaths. "All this time we been together?" He shook his head and re-zipped his pants. "I should know better than to let you talk me into foolin' around when we don't got enough time to get into it." His irritation was clear but the little upturn to his lips reflected his amusement too.

Michonne sidled up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

Reluctantly, he allowed her to lean him against the sink as they held each other. She pecked him on the lips, which led to another and then to a longer kiss. Before they knew it, they were on their way to making out again. In the distance, they heard footsteps pounding down the stairs and then they once more tuned out the rest of the household.

"Woman, you better go put some clothes on so we can get outta here." Daryl said this with his arms still around her and content to let her offer a string of kisses along his neck and chest. She murmured some unintelligible sound into his body that could have been interpreted as protest or assent.

Then more knocking stopped them cold.

Daryl looked skyward and let out a long breath. Michonne pushed herself off of Daryl, threw on her robe and slowly wandered to the door to open it as he moved into the closet area to both cool off and hide his frustration from his kids.

When she opened the door, instead of her youngest child greeting her, she stood face to face with her oldest. His expression was both parts embarrassment and hilarity.

"Uh, we still can't find Sydney's sleeping bag. So if you two are done in here, maybe you want to come lend a hand. We're gonna run late if you don't get it together." He rolled his eyes and backed out of the room. "And you guys are totally gross by the way."

Michonne crossed her arms and watched him leave. "You can come out now, Daryl." But he stayed in the doorway of the closet holding his boots and light jacket, probably what he had come into the bathroom for in the first place.

He opened his mouth to reprimand her and when she turned her intense gaze on him, he thought better of it. "That's the last time I listen to you," he said, pecking her on the forehead and then walking out of the room with his stuff.

"We'll see about that, Dixon," she shouted back at him. Turning into the closet, she grabbed her clothes and went to close the bedroom door so she could quickly get changed.

So much for spending her extra time getting ready. Smiling to herself, Michonne figured she'd found an even better way to pass the time.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Andre dragged the larger sleeping bag onto the tarp in the garage, laying it next to the two tents waiting to be loaded into the truck. Behind him, his seven-year old sister Sydney brought him little things from the house to add to the stash. Daryl had told him they could wait another hour to pack the car, but he had the time and figured he'd get a jump on it to give Daryl less to do. His stepdad was a strong guy for an old dude. That didn't mean he needed to be lifting and hauling things when Andre could do it for him.

It surprised him that Daryl hadn't caught up to him and tried to help out anyway. The last Andre had seen of him was ten minutes ago when Daryl had mumbled something about going to grab his boots and jacket. He hadn't returned so Andre just kept packing things up as planned.

"Dre, where's my sleepin' bag? It's got monsters on it." Sydney had followed him out and seemed very upset not to see her stuff with everyone else's.

"I know what your sleeping bag looks like, Squirrel. Is it already in the truck?" Sydney crawled into the backseat of their mother's SUV and looked around the back before crawling back out. "It's not back here," her worried little voice reported.

Smirking, he reached for her and pulled her against his leg. "Maybe that means we'll have to leave you outside so you can sleep in the trees with the rest of the squirrels." That made her smile. "Come on, let's go look in the spare room for it." She walked ahead of him inside.

Andre checked the time on the kitchen clock before following Sydney into the spare room. His other sister, Marietta, was excited to get to the camping part of the trip, and Sydney just wanted to be out doing something. He couldn't wait to get going so he could spend the afternoon working on the old car he, Daryl and Daryl's brother Merle were fixing up. If he had to spend a whole three days away from his girlfriend Alyssa, he wanted to make sure he'd get some kind of reward for it. That was a long time of not getting to make out with her or chill with her on the phone. Not that it'd be bad hanging out with his family. They all liked camping and Daryl usually found things for them to do that weren't too lame. And although his sisters could be total pains a lot of the time, he would miss the little brats when he left for a month to travel with his dad.

A lot of his friends were curious about his family situation, always asking questions and trying to figure out his business. He lived part-time with his bachelor dad who had a sweet condo and a string of hot, young girlfriends coming in and out of the picture. Then he went back to the chaos of his mom and stepdad's place that had him dealing with little sisters and trips out to the sticks to get his hands dirty working on cars with his stepdad.

He didn't really know what to say to his friends who talked about how weird his life seemed to them. It had always made sense to him, like getting the best of both worlds.

Alyssa thought he was crazy for not living full time with his dad where he had his own room and a sweet entertainment center with the latest game consoles and movie library; no one interrupted him at his dad's place or regulated what he did, really. He usually had the run of the apartment while his dad worked and did his thing. When Alyssa would visit him there, they never had to worry about getting walked in on. The full-time activity of his mom's house meant Syd and Etta would bug them non-stop, and one of his parents could often be found lurking around. And his mom and Daryl were way stricter than his dad: no tablets or headsets at the dinner table, enforcing bed times and curfews. It got on his nerves a lot. He mostly minded them and got decent grades so he thought sixteen was old enough for them to let some of that go.

Yet he continued to spend his time alternating between the two households. It felt nice to be so chill at his dad's place, and he and his dad were really cool with each other. But there would always be something to his connection with his mom—it was like he needed to stay close to her. And his stepdad and sisters, too.

There wasn't a time when he didn't remember Daryl being around, that's how long his mom's man had been in the picture. He didn't get it when he was younger, but now he understood a little why they used to get so many stares when they went out together. His mom and Daryl weren't exactly the kind of couple you expected to see out and about. Daryl was as redneck as they came, so country and more comfortable out in the woods than in the suburbs. And people considered his mom to be a classy lady with her law firm job and cultured tastes. It really was kinda crazy that they ever started dating, much less got married and had kids. But ten years later, they were still kicking—and still as lovey-dovey as always. At least they weren't real showy about it, kissing or making out in front of him. The little things were what he noticed more: the way Daryl always stayed up when his mom worked late, making sure he had dinner waiting and offering to clean up afterwards. And there was the way his mom packed them all up in the car to go spend the weekends with Daryl at the garage. His stepdad hated being away from all of them when he had to be out overseeing things when his brother couldn't be trusted to do it.

In Andre's mind, his mom controlled everything that went on in the family. No one questioned who was in charge. But Daryl could get her acting like a straight fool when he put his mind to it, have her giggling and flirting like the girls at his school. And when Daryl thought no one was looking, he would stare at his mom like he'd won the lottery. That's probably why he'd always been cool with Daryl—the man clearly adored his mom, and that's what he wanted for her. Andre would never admit it, but he liked seeing them like that. Although his mom and dad got along well enough, he couldn't imagine anyone better suited for his mom than Daryl.

His mom and Daryl had their problems sometimes too, like when there'd been a fire at the garage and it took a few months to fix it all up again. Etta wasn't even a year old then. They wouldn't exactly fight like on TV but there had been some really chilly, awkward nights at the dinner table. Then the garage finally got renovated, they'd gone away for a long weekend alone, and things were mostly fine after that.

A lot of his friends had parents who hated each other or divorced or were just plain weird. But he felt lucky that all three of his parents were pretty chill.

In the spare room, he and Sydney poked around in the closet and under the bed but her sleeping bag never turned up. Usually, they kept all that stuff in here or wrapped in the bins in the garage, so it didn't make sense for it to be missing.

"Hey, Squirrel, go ask Mom where your sleeping bag is." Maybe Sydney had had a sleepover or something and she'd move it. "I'm gonna go put the other stuff in the truck."

She hopped over one of the backpacks and the cooler they still needed to move and then took off around the corner and up the stairs. He chuckled and went back in the garage.

Another thing that had Andre looking forward to getting on the road was that Daryl had promised him he could work on the one job they had lined up for the day. Daryl had taught him everything he knew about cars, and it helped him figure out that he wanted to study engineering when he graduated.

Daryl's brother Merle had eventually taught him a lot too. At first, Daryl and his mom tried to shield him from the man. No one can really keep Merle under wraps if he didn't want to be though. Andre had been so little when he'd first met him but he remembered not liking Merle for a long time. Right after Etta had been born, he heard Merle saying something stupid—he didn't even remember what. But the younger version of him had gone off on the man, kicking him in the shin and threatening to beat him up for being mean to his mom.

After that, Merle had started treating him better, with more respect—and things changed between Merle and his mom. They'd probably never like each other, but they got along well enough these days.

And Andre eventually learned how to get along with the man too, enough to get Merle to teach him what he knew about motorcycles and such. It seemed worth it to keep the peace for Daryl's sake even if he'd always be wary. No matter what kind of front Merle put up for Sydney and Etta, Andre couldn't forget the time when their uncle had had the roughest of edges.

It took a little bit of effort but Andre got both tents and one of the coolers into his mom's truck. He'd leave some of the other stuff for Daryl so that he wouldn't feel like he hadn't helped. Hearing footsteps behind him, he took one last look across the garage for anything else they needed to gather.

"Did you find the sleeping bag yet?" Etta asked. Andre turned around to see both his sisters standing in the doorway, Sydney looking very put out and Etta carrying two backpacks—one for her and one for her sister.

"Why are you asking me? I sent Sydney to ask Mom." He looked at the little girl who shrugged.

"She and Papa are in the bathroom getting ready, and she said to ask Etta. But Etta doesn't know so Mama has to come find it."

Andre rolled his eyes. Yeah, it was cool that his mom and his stepdad got along but Daryl had been up and prepped for hours so he had a good idea of what they might be up to while they were supposed to be "getting ready". It was gross. Cute, but gross.

"I'm gonna go get Mama," Sydney said.

Etta scoffed. "Ny-ny, why don't _you_ know where your sleeping bag is?"

"You don't know where it is either so shut up."

"You shut up. Why should I know where your sleeping bag is? I only need to know where mine is."

Sydney crossed her arms and scowled at her sister. "You're such a know-it-all about the camping trip so you should know this too."

Andre trotted over to the doorway and separated the two. They could be such brats sometimes. It would end up being a painful weekend if they all started it off bickering.

"Both of you shut up because it's not helping us find it any faster. Ny-ny, help Etta put the backpacks in the truck, you know the one she re-packed for you." He flashed a warning to the older sister too. "And since you did help Daryl plan this thing, you really should have known that Sydney's sleeping bag was MIA. Besides, you don't remember half the bratty things you did when you were seven so ease up on her. I'll go get Mom."

It'd be good for the girls to bury the hatchet and work together but he'd really decided to intervene to protect his little sisters. Who knows what the poor girls would walk into if they went looking for their parents. What kind of big brother would he be if he didn't save everyone the trauma of seeing them in a compromising position? He grinned at the idea of interrupting a make-out session in the house instead of him always getting busted. Then he frowned thinking about how terrible it would be once Etta and Sydney started dating.

Andre trudged up the stairs hoping that his parents would be out of the bathroom, save him the trouble of barging in on them. But when he walked into their room, the bathroom door was still closed, although he couldn't hear anything happening on the other side. Thankfully. Sighing, he knocked on the door.

The tell-tale sign of hurried shuffling let him know that he'd been right on the money about what they were up to in there. He and Alyssa did the same thing enough times for him to recognize it when he heard it. Ugh, he so didn't want to deal with this.

Finally, his mother opened the door looking as normal as ever. It was a rare sight to catch her off her game. But Daryl had retreated into the closet, out of sight. They could have played that off if he hadn't heard them rushing away from each other five seconds before.

"Uh, we still can't find Sydney's sleeping bag. So if you two are done in here, maybe you want to come lend a hand. We're gonna run late if you don't get it together." He rolled his eyes and backed out of the room. "And you guys are totally gross by the way." Skipping down the stairs, he shook his head but then laughed at how juvenile his parents could be sometimes.

They really were cute, but also definitely gross.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Marietta was the last to get out of the car, watching Sydney run in circles around Andre on their way towards the garage. Her dad followed behind them responding to whatever questions her little sister threw at him. Bringing up the rear, she held the supply box for the office area.

Papa had let her plan a lot of this weekend's camping trip so she couldn't wait to get out of here and out to the lake. The family's excitement hyped her up—and it made her nervous because she wanted them to have a good time. She liked being outside and liked hanging out with her dad when they went fishing and hiking and stuff; she hoped Dre and Syd would have fun doing those things too. If not, she figured Mama would make sure no one got too upset and then she'd fix things like she always does.

As Etta shuffled along after her family, she sighed and kicked at the dusty walkway. Before they could get to the good part of the weekend, they just had to spend a boring afternoon at the garage first. Yuck.

The garage was more of an Andre thing since he liked working on cars with Papa and Uncle Merle. She usually just hung out inside and read her books or watched the TV. Sometimes if Papa wasn't busy, they'd practice on the crossbow, or if he was busy, she'd go exploring the area close by with Sydney to get some of the energy out of her little sister. But Sydney had been getting on her nerves today so she didn't want to end up babysitting her for the next few hours.

Now that she was here at the garage, she wished she'd gone with Mama to run errands. She might have even gotten to hang out with Judith for a little bit if Mama stopped off to visit Uncle Rick. Etta hadn't seen any of the Grimes in a few weeks; Mama said that Judith and Carl had wanted to go camping with them too but they had already planned a trip to spend the weekend with their grandparents. Judith—or Lil Asskicker as Papa called her—was Etta's favorite god-sister, and Etta didn't mind Carl so much. He could be as annoying as Andre though when he bossed her around.

Taking in the quiet around the garage and the office, she could already tell that the afternoon would drag until they left for their trip.

Approaching the open workspace, she saw an older man come walking out to meet them, dirty rag in hand and his face all beardy. Etta smiled. At least Uncle Merle was here to stir things up.

Her little sister did one last twirl around Andre and then ran to her uncle. He didn't pick her up—he said his back was too old for any more of that nonsense—but he let her grab onto his leg and continued trying to walk as he dragged her along. Sydney had been playing that game with him since she was old enough to crawl and she loved it.

Papa frowned. "Squirrel, stop hangin' off your uncle like that, please." The little girl loosened her grip but didn't let go.

"Aww, she aint hurtin nothin', Little Brother. Let her be." Sydney didn't reattach herself, though, since she didn't want to cross their Papa, even if Uncle Merle said it was ok.

"You aint gon' be singin' that tune when your hip starts actin' up. And then watch you try to to get outta work 'cause of it."

Uncle Merle laughed. "I wouldn't dream 'a usin' my niece here to get outta work, now would I, Squirrel?" Sydney shook her head, probably having no idea what they were even talking about. It made Etta laugh.

"And what you laughin' at, Cookie?" he asked when she got closer.

She smiled wider at her uncle. Yes, he was getting older and her dad worried more about him hurting himself at the garage. But his eyes still twinkled and he never lost his smart mouth, as Mama always complained. Mama and Uncle Merle bickered like she sometimes did with her brother and sister.

And he was the only one who called her Cookie. Apparently, when she was a baby, she used to get the giggles whenever he'd pretend to gobble her up like the Cookie Monster and the nickname stuck.

"I'm laughing at you, Uncle Merle," she threw back. "Papa got you good 'cause you tried that excuse last month after we went hunting for those rabbits."

He stared her down. "Did I?" She nodded. "Well, if you say so then." But she could tell from his expression that he remembered too and enjoyed yanking her dad's chain. As she reached him, he tugged at her hair and pinched her cheek. "You must get all them smarts from your Mama, since I know my brother aint that damn clever."

"Oooh," Sydney bellowed. She and Dre laughed.

"Uncle Merle Rules in effect," Dre said.

"Uncle Merle Rules," she and Sydney shouted together.

Sydney giggled. "Uncle Merle is gonna get it from Mama."

Etta laughed. "Nuh-uh. As long as we call Uncle Merle Rules, she won't get too mad."

Throughout their conversation, Uncle Merle looked at all of them like they'd grown extra sets of heads. Her Papa snickered from where he stood at his workbench going through some mail.

"What's all this 'Uncle Merle Rules' business? I aint heard 'a none 'a these rules. Who the hell gets to make rules about me?"

They all started laughing again. Andre patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Merle." He wandered over to Papa's workbench and started digging in his toolbox.

"Cookie? You gon' tell me what y'all talkin' 'bout? 'Cause I aint gon' stand for no children making rules about me."

Daryl laughed and walked over to him on his way to the office area. "Chill out, Merle. It's just something Michonne told the kids last month to keep them from repeatin' the dumb things that come outta your mouth. They don't need to be talkin' like you do when they're around other folks."

"Hmph. Your Michonne made it up? Figures." Papa rolled his eyes.

Etta went over to grab his arm; Sydney had stayed close too, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Don't worry. We think Uncle Merle Rules are amazing." Sydney nodded at that too.

He let her and her sister lead him back into the office where he'd been sitting around watching TV as he waited for them. "Well, alright then. If you say so, Cookie." He plopped down in his chair and let Sydney crawl on his lap. Etta sat in the chair next to him and pulled out her tablet to check her email. It sounded like her little sister had saved up a million questions to ask their uncle, and every time he responded to her, his answers got more and more ridiculous, which made Sydney laugh.

She realized her Uncle Merle didn't exactly fit in with the rest of her family and friends, but she'd always really liked him. He treated her a little differently than everyone else. It's not like she was his favorite, but he was nicer to her and talked to her more. Even when she was little, she'd keep her Uncle Merle company and follow after him all the time. He'd be the first to hoist her on his shoulders and carry her around or take her for walks in the woods that surrounded the garage.

Dre says he made an effort to be nice to her because she was his first real family besides Papa. He said that when she was born, he stopped being so mean to Mama and didn't fight with Papa as much—he knew that if he didn't act better, they wouldn't let him be included in family things or get to play with her or watch her grow up. She didn't know if she really believed him since he and Uncle Merle got on okay now. They worked on their motorcycles together and Uncle Merle would take him on errands and stuff. He never called Uncle Merle "uncle", though, because Papa wasn't his real dad like her and Sydney; he had another dad who he stayed with sometimes.

A lot of her friends had stepparents like Papa was to Dre but she didn't see how it was any different since Mama and Papa loved all of them the same—they told them so all the time. The only thing different was that Dre still called Papa by his first name—or sometimes he called him "Pops" if he was being funny. Dre treated her and Sydney like real sisters too. Sometimes he got really grumpy, especially when he was with his stupid girlfriend. He'd always tell her what a brat she used to be when they were younger, before she turned into a nerd. But he wouldn't say it in a mean way, and Etta didn't mind being seen as a nerd. And ever since she could remember, her big brother made an effort to play with her. Now they'd hang out and watch TV or go to the movies sometimes. He always protected her and made sure no one ever picked on her or Sydney.

"Cookie, what you workin' on over there got you all quiet?" Sydney had finished her list of questions and crawled down to dig in her "activities box" in the corner.

She looked down at the notes she had been taking. "Nothing really. Just writing stuff." Dre had his cars and Syd had her games. But Etta liked to write little stories and read books in her free time.

Her uncle grumbled and sipped at his glass of iced tea. "What kind 'a nothin' you writin'? 'Cause Ole Merle could tell ya a story or two, better than what you got over there. Did I ever tell ya 'bout the time I took your ole man out to the creek to teach him to swim?"

Etta put her tablet down and stared at him with wide eyes. "No, you didn't tell me that story." She loved when he'd tell her funny stories from when he and Papa were little. Papa didn't have a lot of stories, and he'd get sad if she asked sometimes. But Uncle Merle would tell her things that always sounded good.

He settled back in his chair. "Well, I weren't no older 'an you, and your dad was younger than Squirrel over there. He kept beggin' me to take him out and learn him how to swim. I got tired 'a hearing him whine about it so I finally took him out to do it. 'Cept when we got there, there was a whole gang 'a frogs in the water just hoppin' around. Must have been matin' season or some, hell if I know. But we didn't know them frogs was there until we got in. I threw your dad out into the water and he stands up and there's all these frogs jumping and flying around."

Uncle Merle starts laughing until he can't even get the words out. She's laughing too thinking about her dad standing in a bunch of creek-water with frogs flying around. Sydney is listening too from her corner and giggling.

"Well, your dad learned real quick how to swim tryin' to get away from them frogs. But everywhere he turned, there'd just be more frogs. And he's hollerin' and splashin' and goin' on, and I'm just standing off to the side laughing my ass off."

Sydney chuckles extra loudly at Uncle Merle's bad word. "How'd he get away," Etta asked him, laughing along with them.

Uncle Merle again started gasping, he was cracking up so hard. "He kept on kickin' and goin' on till he got to the other side 'a the creek and he just runs outta the water, shakin' out his clothes thinkin' some of 'em had crawled into his shorts." There were now tears in his eyes from his amusement. "And he finally gets calmed down and I had to yell at him across the way, 'how you gon' get home from over there?' Wadn't no way to get back to the house without swimmin' back 'cross the creek. 'Course your dad is a stubborn sum'bitch so he spent half the damn day walkin' along the creek tryin' to outrun them frogs. Oh man, that day was funny."

"Oh yeah? I didn't see you in that water with them frogs," her dad said from the doorway. Etta turned her head towards him hoping he wasn't mad at Uncle Merle for telling his story. He didn't always like for him to talk about when they were kids. This time, though, he had a smile on his face. It must have been one of the good memories.

"You sure as hell didn't. I aint no fool." Her dad grinned. She and Papa had the same smile and she liked getting to see his.

Sydney dropped the puzzle she'd been playing with and approached her uncle again. "Let's go find some frogs, Uncle Merle." Etta thought it so funny how much her little sister loved an adventure, while she preferred to spend her down time being quiet. Mama said that Etta looked and acted so much like her Papa; maybe that's why she liked hanging out with him and Uncle Merle. Sydney looked more like their mom in the face and liked to be out doing stuff like their Mama too. Andre was like both Mama and Papa, even though he and Papa didn't have the same DNA that she learned about in science class.

Uncle Merle raised himself up slowly and took Syd's hand. "I think that's a good idea, Squirrel. Let's go over by the pond and see if we can spot us some frogs." The pond off by the short trail was only a few minutes away and it was so tiny. But it was the best place for finding critters for when they went fishing and for spotting fireflies too in the summer.

"You mind your uncle, Sydney. And no runnin' off." Sydney nodded at her father's serious tone. "And you," he said, pointing at his brother. "No crazy stories in front 'a her. She's only seven."

"Seven and a half," Syd insisted. Papa offered an apology for forgetting the "half" and smoothed her wild curls down before heading back out to the garage.

"I'll be a good boy, Little Brother." He turned to Etta still sitting with her tablet. "You comin', Cookie?" he asked.

"No thanks, Uncle Merle. Mama will be here soon, and I told her I'd help her with the camping stuff. And Papa said he'd let me practice my crossbow if he had time.

Shrugging, he walked through the doorway with Sydney. "Suit yourself, Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes. Me and Squirrel gon' find us some good fun. Come on little lady." From the window, she saw them head off down the trail chatting as they went.

After they left, she tinkered for a while on her stories, glad to have the quiet. They'd left the TV on some talk show and she'd cut the volume down. From out in the garage, she could hear Papa and Andre banging on something every now and then. She took a few sips from her Uncle Merle's forgotten iced tea and then looked in her bag for the headband she'd stolen from her parents' bathroom to keep her hair from falling in her face as she worked. A year ago, her Mama had finally let her start locking her hair so it would look like hers. She'd wanted to do it since forever because she loved her mom's hair. But Mama had been reluctant since it took a lot of care and she wanted to make sure Etta really wanted to do it before they went through the trouble of it. It had been rough going at first but now it was starting to look really cool. And she liked those evenings she'd sit with her mom while they both did their hair.

Before she could start typing on her tablet again, she heard the sound of an engine as a car pulled into the shop. Figuring it was probably her mom, she poked her head into the front of the office area to check it out. Instead of her mom's SUV, another car had driven up and it looked pretty nice. Dre mentioned he might get to work on something today so maybe this is what he meant.

Her Papa was talking to someone through the window and then he backed up and let her move closer to the open garage. The door opened and a woman stepped out of the car, smiling really brightly at her dad. She touched his arm briefly and barely turned away when Papa pointed at Dre. Papa just looked kind of uncomfortable, like when Mama would make him go to some fancy dinner with her and he had to wear a suit.

She might only be 11 years old but she knew enough to keep an eye on this lady while her Mama wasn't there.

Etta looked into the side-door to the garage and saw that Dre had noticed her looking out at them. He cut his eyes to the lady and smirked. Etta smiled back and covered her hand to laugh.

With almost the entire family here, this lady was about to get a really confusing crash course on the Dixon clan.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Sydney walked right up to the edge of the pond but there were no frogs in sight, not in the weeds, not on the rocks, and not in the water. Maybe they were hiding under the water like Uncle Merle had said. She leaned over to look and immediately felt a tug at the back of her shirt.

"Oh no you don't, Squirrel. You get yourself covered in pond water and come back soakin' wet and your ole man'll chew me a new one."

She looked up at her uncle with furrowed brow. He said a lot of crazy things sometimes. "Chew you a new what?"

He chuckled. "Never you mind. That's one of them 'Uncle Merle Rules' y'all went on about. Just know I aint in the mood so step back a little from the edge and don't even think about takin' a dip to try and stir them frogs up."

"Well, then how are we gonna find the frogs if we can't go into the water a little?"

This time, Uncle Merle laughed real loud. She liked it when he made that sound, especially when she made him laugh like that. "Whoo, look at you, trouble maker. You sure like to stir the pot, just like your Mama."

That made Sydney smile since she didn't mind being like her mom. "Papa says I'm more like him when I'm gettin' in trouble 'cause Dixons like trouble."

"Boy's got the right idea. You got plenty 'a Dixon blood in ya to prove the point, that's for sure. Your sister, she's the sweet part of my little brother, and you," he said fluffing her curly hair. "You take after the wild side of 'em." Both a ya are good, strong Dixon gals.

"What about Dre? Does he get to be a Dixon even though he's got another dad?"

Uncle Merle didn't answer right away as he thought about it, frowning as they stepped back on the trail. "'Suppose you don't need blood to keep folks close like family. So maybe a bit 'a Dixon seeped into him too. That's why he's so good fixin' up stuff like me and your pa."

Sydney looked up at him and then nodded, satisfied. She wouldn't want Dre to feel left out. Already she worried about her mom because Etta was always hanging out with their Papa learning the crossbow and then planning this trip and fishing and stuff. And Andre would come out here with Papa to the garage and he went over to his other dad's house too. She didn't want Mama thinking no one wanted to hang out with her so the last few weeks she'd made it her mission to go wherever her Mama went so they could hang out too. Her Papa was the best and gave her the nicest hugs and kisses. But her Mama talked to her like a grown up, like she talked to Etta and Andre. Everyone else treated her like a baby a lot. Mama let her be as adventurous and as curious as she wanted, and answered all her questions. She never got scared if she knew her Mama was there. And her Mama could make her laugh so hard that she'd snort sometimes and that would make everyone laugh harder.

Walking around the pond, she spotted a long stick over by her favorite tree and ran to pick it up. "What if we just swirled this in the water to let the frogs know to come up?"

Uncle Merle thought about it for a second. "Yeah, that sounds good. Let's give it a try, Squirrel." She smiled and jogged back over to him as he led her to the edge of the pond again.

"Now reach out into there with the stick and give it a swish." She did as Uncle Merle said and watched the ripples spread out into the middle of the little pond. A bird that had been on a rock drinking from it turned to look at them and then hopped farther away. But other than that, nothing made a peep. She tried it again and the same thing. Looking up at her uncle for answers, she frowned at seeing him shrug.

"Well, give it some more time. Let's see what else is goin' on around here, let good ole Uncle Merle stretch his legs a little."

They walked side by side along the trail that went around the pond, Uncle Merle at a stroll and she running around looking for interesting insects or lizards and periodically checking for frog activity. If she got too far ahead, he'd whistle and she'd come back closer to him. Her Uncle Merle was the best part about coming with Papa to the garage because he never minded playing with her and he'd get silly all the time too. And when she'd get in trouble, he'd sometimes sneak her snacks or let her out of time out early.

She also really liked going on walks with him and Etta and he'd tell them stories of his trips around the world and teach them about tracking and hunting. Their Papa taught them those things too but with Uncle Merle, it always felt like an adventure. And sometimes Papa came too and they'd spend all day exploring the woods or going fishing and getting dirty.

Mama got so silly when they'd come back and would fuss about having to check all of them for fleas, especially Papa. Uncle Merle would tell her to hush and then they'd get to saying stuff to each other that they meant to sound mean but just sounded funny to everybody else because they didn't really mean it.

Sydney stopped in the middle of the path and crouched down. When her uncle caught up, she pointed at the thing on the ground. "What's that, Uncle Merle?"

He bent over and looked at it real good and then picked it up. "That there is a nut from this here tree." He pointed a few feet away to a big tree that looked a little different than the other ones. "Don't know what it's doing out now since it aint the season for it. Who the hell knows?" He handed it to her and she stuck it in her pocket to check out later. They kept walking and circled around towards the direction they'd come from.

A rustling in the tall grass got her attention and she stopped cold, raising her stick up. Before she could even think to breathe, Uncle Merle stood behind her. She didn't know he could even move that quick.

"Just stand there, little one. Don't go disturbing nothin' you can't see." Sydney nodded. She'd heard the rules of being outdoors many times from her Papa and her uncle to keep her from getting attacked or bitten by something nasty. Uncle Merle took the stick from her and stepped towards the rustling. He also, unclipped the knife he always kept at his belt just in case. Leaning over the area where they'd heard the sound, his serious face turned to a grinning one. The smiles made way to laughter and, finally, he motioned her closer.

"Look what we got here?" Sydney looked down into the grass and there sat a little frog just hanging out on a rock. She giggled and stooped down to get a closer look. "Now don't scare it off, Squirrel. Keep your movements real slow like when you're tracking a deer."

Sydney did as she was told and reached out towards the animal with a long blade of grass she'd pulled at. The frog blinked and looked at her but didn't hop away. She waved the grass at the frog but the frog ignored it and her. Feeling a little put out, she scooted slightly closer and whispered instructions to the frog in a sing-song voice.

When Sydney got to the part about him coming out to play, it turned its head and licked at the grass. She yelped in surprise and fell back against her uncle who let out a loud guffaw at her reaction. The frog whipped out its tongue a few times and then hopped off the rock and back towards the water.

Sydney scowled at the frog and scrambled back up to her feet. She growled, "You come back here, frog!" and scurried further into the grass towards the direction of the frog's escape. She'd gotten almost to the pond's edge when she again felt a familiar pressure around her collar: her Uncle Merle with a fist hooked around her shirt.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there, girlie. What I just tell you 'bout runnin' off."

"I wasn't runnin' off, I was chasin' that frog! I'm gonna get it and take it back to Papa."

"Not if he done gone back in that water you aint. You gotta be careful out here, little one. Your Papa don't want you slippin' into that water and gettin' caught up like he did. Ole Uncle Merle aint always gon' be around to look out for y'all."

Sydney turned and looked up at the older man. "I thought you said you threw Papa into that creek. And then you laughed at him when the frogs tried to get him." She put her hands on her hips and stared him down, looking every bit the spitting image of her mother.

Just the mention of it made Uncle Merle start chuckling again. "I guess I did say it went down that way," he replied scratching at his whiskers. "Anyway, looks like you and your Papa are cut from the same cloth after all." Sydney grinned, thinking again of his story. She didn't feel so bad getting a little surprised and scared of that frog at first, knowing that her dad hadn't liked the animals either.

Glancing again at the pond to see if she could spot the frog, she dusted herself off and threw down the grass she pulled up. "Let's go tell Papa." She shuffled back onto the trail and then grabbed her uncle's hand to get him to move along.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'. Aint gotta rush me. I'm an old man and can't keep up with your quick little legs, Squirrel."

Sydney sighed dramatically. "Fine." She let go of him and returned to his side, grabbing her stick back and skipping along at his pace. It only took a few minutes until the garage was back in sight.

Her Papa and Andre were standing outside the garage looking into a car. She didn't see Etta but her sister had probably stayed inside to write or read something. Sometimes if her sister didn't feel like running around with her, she would tell Sydney her stories about giant robots or fairy tales with real fairies; and she'd make them extra exciting. The best ones were when she'd put Mama and Papa and Andre in them and then make them do all kinds of crazy things.

When they got closer to her Papa and brother, she saw another lady hanging around there too. The lady stood next to Papa and kept smiling at him and stuff. Maybe she was one of his friends or something. The lady's outfit looked really cute and she had fun looking hair. Sydney thought her pretty, although not as pretty as her Mama; nobody was prettier than Mama. Even Papa thought so—well, with an exception for her and Etta, he said.

"Who's that lady, Uncle Merle?" He had a grin on his face as he looked at the lady so maybe he knew her too.

"Oh she's probably a customer. Daryl said he had somebody comin' in. Didn't tell me it'd be somebody like her." He glanced down at her. "You better hope your Mama don't come back while she's here."

"Why?"

'Ohhh, just 'cause, little Squirrel. Just 'cause." Sydney shrugged. Grownups were so weird sometimes.

The rule was that if Papa was with a customer, she had to be a good girl and not bother him unless it was important. So she took her Uncle Merle's hand and put her fingers to her lips to indicate that he should follow the rule too.

Her uncle raised his eyebrows at her as they approached the group. "What you shushin' me for. This is my da— my dang garage too. I talk to who I wanna talk to."

"But I can't so you gotta stick with me." She dragged her uncle past the group, waving as she went. Her Papa smiled at her and winked and the lady smiled too, both at her and at Uncle Merle. But then she turned back to Papa and smiled at him even bigger and started talking to him again. Andre ignored her since he had his head stuck under the hood looking at the engine.

"You need any help there, Little Brother?" Uncle Merle asked. It didn't seem like he wanted to help Papa because he didn't stop walking back inside with her. When she turned back, she could tell Papa was annoyed. That made Uncle Merle laugh. "Naw, I suppose you're good. Real good."

Uncle Merle kept on chuckling as they got to the office. "Oh yeah, Michonne's gonna love that one. Can't wait to see them fireworks."

Sydney still didn't understand why her uncle kept mentioning her mom. Mama liked when Papa got customers and the lady seemed to really like Papa too. She'd never understand grownups and how confusing they could be.

Spotting Etta watching her dad too from the office, Sydney rushed inside to fill her sister in on her adventure.

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

This woman was damn well gonna drive him to drink.

No one would ever accuse him of being overly friendly, but Daryl felt that he did alright when it came to treating the customers well without being too grumpy. Hell, that's how he won over Michonne—something she reminded him of at times like this. Yet this woman seemed intent on trying his patience, flirting not too much but enough, standing close and making idle conversation with a question every so often about his personal business.

Andre looked up from where he stood working on the repair to the engine. The way the woman stood off to the side, shielded her from him so all he heard was her end of the conversation. The boy shook his head and snickered softly at Daryl.

The attention flattered him a little bit but mostly it just made him uncomfortable. He'd always been like that when it came to female attention, not knowing what to make of it and whether he should be doing something about it. Now that he'd been with one woman for so long, he definitely didn't have much patience with this kind of thing. He cursed the fact that he'd attached his wedding band to his key ring, a habit after spending too much effort getting it clean and fixing the scratches to it.

The woman—Mabel as she'd requested he call her—leaned her hip against the side of the car. He'd caught Andre checking her out in her tight jeans and even tighter sweater, hair colored and styled to the hottest look of the moment. He wished she'd just go sit inside like he'd suggested. But after accepting his offer for a bottle of water that they retrieved from the office area (Etta lingering close by writing on her tablet) she'd returned to their side, adamant about getting to watch him work. Even when he'd told her that he had to spend the time supervising Andre's repair, she'd insisted that she'd love to watch and learn too. All she'd done was run her mouth though.

"So, it must be so nice being out here all day. It seems real peaceful."

"Yeah, it is nice." He leaned over the engine block trying to get a better view of the adjustments his oldest kid made. "That's good Dre. Keep an eye on it and then slip—yeah, just like that."

"And you get to work with your brother too? What a wonderful thing."

"Works out, I guess." He tried walking to Andre's other side to check out things from there, but Mabel repositioned herself at the corner so as not to lose sight of him.

Andre had done some really nice work on the task. His instincts were so good for it and he had the patience not to rush a job. Even Merle had never mastered that part. They talked out what he'd done a little, Mabel watching on.

"Might keep you around, kid." He ruffled Andre's hair, their usual joke making them both laugh. When he was little, every time Andre learned something new, Daryl said that same thing: might keep you around. Turns out he'd kept him around for the better part of a decade.

Daryl wiped his hand on the rag tucked into his pocket. I'm 'a go get the top-off kit and we'll finish up with the bells and whistles." That meant changing out the fluids and doing a routine maintenance check.

"I'll get it, Daryl," Andre said a little too quickly. Before Daryl could protest, the kid had walked off to the other part of the garage, wiping his hands and then pulling his ringing phone out of his pocket. Daryl rolled his eyes knowing exactly what—or who—had distracted the boy. He shook his head but smiled a little. He didn't mind letting the kid get one last phone call in before they left on their camping excursion.

Then he frowned when he realized his son's abandonment left him alone with Mabel. The woman remained leaning against the car, head cocked and grinning his way. Out on the side of the building, he could hear Sydney's giggles as she and Merle got into whatever trouble they'd conjured up. It was cool enough for his brother to lounge around outside, and he'd probably devised some game to get Syd to burn off some of her spare energy. A few times since they'd returned from the pond, his youngest had gotten Merle to chase her around for a bit before they disappeared along the side of the garage again. Sydney would leave him be when he got to dealing with a customer as she'd been taught. But his brother smirked at him knowingly, leering at Mabel and wiggling his eyebrows.

Checking to see that Andre still remained out of sight, Mabel took a couple of steps towards him and opened her mouth to say something.

In the distance, he heard a car pull in and drive closer to the entrance to the garage. Mabel's eyes shifted in that direction, and Daryl looked over his shoulder as well.

Michonne.

He instinctively took a step away from the woman, relief flooding him, followed by a bit of dread.

His wife parked her SUV in its usual spot. He could see through the windows where they'd packed it up good before leaving. When she walked toward him, a raised eyebrow was her only reaction to his semi-compromising position.

"Hey Mom," Andre said walking up and pocketing his phone. "Did you get everything?"

Michonne eyed Daryl one last time, curious but not openly. Turning to Andre, she nodded. "Got it all. We're good to go. You still wanna drive up?" She grinned knowing the answer.

"Uh, do I?" She held out the keys to him and he grabbed them happily, doing a little dance afterwards.

Michonne nudged her son's shoulder. "You really are a nut, Peanut."

Shuffling from around the way caught Daryl's attention next. Sydney came tearing around the corner and practically mowed Michonne down with the force of her grasp. Sydney had been real clingy with Michonne lately. If it kept on, Michonne mentioned they might have to sit down and have a talk with the little girl, make sure Sydney didn't have some worrisome reason for it.

"Mama, you're back!" She hugged her mother tightly around the middle. "You gotta hear about my frog."

"Your frog?" Michonne said, playing along. "I go away for a few hours and you've got a frog story?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah, two frog stories. We heard another one about Papa."

"'Bout time you showed up," Merle said, now strolling around the corner after Sydney. "Got me lookin' after these youngins all day while you gallivant across the county doin' God knows what."

Michonne rolled her eyes, now so used to his brother's mouth. "Merle, have you been filling these kids' heads with frog stories?"

"So what if I have? The little one here almost caught one too. A Dixon through and through, that little Squirrel." He walked around to the other side of her. "And don't be comin' up in here fussin' at me. You know you like when I get to tellin' them kids stories 'bout the country." He made kissy noises at her as he passed, clearly annoying her yet only making his brother laugh. Crossing over to the side entrance to the office, he called out for Etta.

"Cookie, come tell your Mama how much you like my stories." Sydney loosened her grip on her mother but pulled her towards the building to go find Etta. Michonne let herself be led, flashing a put-upon look over her shoulder at him, an irritated expression laced with a grin of pleasure. She didn't seem phased at all to leave him alone with a strange, beautiful woman who couldn't stop making eyes at him.

He loved that she trusted him and her indifference was kinda hot, but, damn, would it kill her to act even a little bit territorial? If it had been him standing there while some fool went sniffing around her, there wasn't no way he'd be that cool about it. And she knew it too.

"Daryl, I'll finish up here if you wanna do the other checks." Andre had all the materials he needed to take care of the engine block.

He thanked Andre for the escape—the "other checks" meant looking in on the tires and poking around at various parts of the car. It kept him on the move and away from Mabel cornering him. She'd taken in the scene from before with a wild curiosity.

"Such a beautiful family," she commented.

Daryl couldn't help but grin at that. "Sure is."

"I didn't realize at first that the girls were her daughters. But both your assistant there and the youngest look just like her. Not so much the oldest girl, except for being darker-skinned."

Daryl hummed his agreement. "Etta's got more of a Dixon look to her."

"It's nice to see you all hanging out like this. Your brother looks really happy to have his family close by. Makes you wanna think about settling down, you know." She followed him as he squatted down to check the pressure on the tires.

"Yeah, it has its advantages I hear," Daryl replied, moving onto the other side of the car. Mabel remained at his heel.

"Do _you_ ever think about—?"

The side-door to the office burst open and Sydney came running back out followed by Etta. Daryl frowned. "Hey, stop that runnin'." Sydney slowed down the rest of the way. Both girls had a bag in hand, probably some random stuff to pack into Michonne's truck. Etta stopped to say something to Andre; the boy looked over towards where Daryl stood with Mabel and they both started laughing. Andre gave her the keys and she walked towards the truck. Sydney waited impatiently for her, hopping from one foot to the other.

Seeing that Andre had his eye on the girls, Daryl went back to checking the tires.

"As I was saying, do you ever think about having a little more companionship than all this? I might be able to help with that."

Daryl stared up at her and frowned. What a bold thing to say to him after complimenting his kids.

Before he could respond, the girls came shuffling back in. Sydney smiled at him and put her fingers to her lips to let him know she'd wait until he wasn't working to bug him. Etta narrowed her eyes a bit at seeing him standing next to Mabel. She paused before following Etta inside.

"Mama says not to forget what time we're leaving."

Mabel perked up at hearing that. "Oh, so y'all are heading out soon?"

Etta cocked her head to the side, suspicious but holding her cards close to her chest. His little girl had good instincts for sure. "Yeah, we're going camping."

"Sounds like fun." She turned to Daryl. "I bet they'll have a great time camping out this way. Maybe when you're done with my car we can talk about—"

"All set," Andre called out from the front of the car. His eyes twinkled with amusement as he closed the hood. Etta had disappeared inside calling for her mom and Andre wiped at his hands as he came around to where Daryl and Mabel stood. "How 'bout those tires, old man?"

"Don't you start too," Daryl said. "Michonne already called me that earlier."

"Ugh, don't remind me about this morning. Gross." Daryl swatted at him and Andre dodged. "Old man."

"Who's an old man?" Michonne asked from the doorway. She held a shopping bag in her arms as she leaned against the frame. Her stance was casual but those eyes, well, they told a whole other story.

Mabel shuffled next to him, probably annoyed at all the distractions. "Well, _I_ think you're looking good, Daryl Dixon." She reached out to touch his arm and Daryl jumped at the contact. Michonne snickered from where she watched a few feet away.

From around her hip, Sydney appeared carrying a stack of towels that she handed to her mom. "Papa's not old. Old people can't catch me." And then she stuck her tongue out at her father before taking off.

Daryl laughed and took off after her, unphased by Mabel's assumptions, Michonne's satisfaction, Andre's humor or Etta's scrutiny as she appeared next to her mother and relieved her of the load she'd been carrying. He just focused on the sounds of his daughter's laughter when he pretended to fall behind and then swooped in to capture her, picking her up and planting kisses onto her cheek. As he twirled her around, he barely registered Mabel's jaw hitting the ground or the amusement of his family when the realities of the Dixon unit finally sunk in. At least now she'd know why her flirtations hadn't gone anywhere.

As he handed off their youngest to his wife, a lithe, petit little thing for her seven years, he caught Michonn's eye and smiled at the predatory, possessive reflection he saw there. He realized that given Sydney's reluctance to interrupt him while he worked, she must have sent their youngest daughter after him.

That was more like it.

"You are getting way too old to be carried, young lady," Michonne said to Sydney as she put her down. Yet she kept her daughter close to her side as the little girl held on to her mother's middle. Etta shook her head grinning and passed behind them, repositioning the supplies and heading to the car.

Before returning to deal with Mabel—mainly to push her out of the garage so they could get on their way—he leaned over and kissed Michonne, a quick pull at her lips that she returned. "Thanks, Babe," he whispered. More loudly he said. "We're almost done here so if you finish packin' up the truck, we'll head out after while."

Michonne nodded and dragged Sydney inside still attached to her hip. "Come on, Squirrel, let's do as your Papa asks and you can tell me about this frog business that your Uncle Merle's filled your head with."

Daryl didn't want to deal with the awkward conversation he was about to have with Mabel but it had to be done. To his surprise, when he turned back to her, she greeted him with bright eyes filled with mirth rather than any negativity. Perhaps, she'd had time to process it and wanted to save face. He didn't really care as long as they could finish their business and get on with the day.

"You've got one helluva family, Dixon." She chuckled to herself as she said it, although he sensed the apology in her expression as well.

"That I do," Daryl responded. "Now let's get you back up and runnin'."

* * *

><p>Later on, with the car packed, the garage locked up, and Mabel long gone, Daryl stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, rinsing himself off as he got cleaned up from the afternoon's work. A click at the door revealed Michonne, who slipped inside and closed the door behind her. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his shoulder.<p>

"Oh no you don't. I aint fallin' for your tricks twice."

She laughed but didn't respond—and didn't let go either. Daryl turned off the water and turned in her arms, loving the feel of her; loving the presence of their family around him; loving that he got to call all of this his. He held her and let it all soak in.

In the newly created silence, they easily picked up on the commotion in the hallway outside.

"I'm not gonna go get 'em," a female voice said in a hushed whisper.

"But it's your turn. I've gotten traumatized enough today," Andre said just as quietly. "If you wanna get outta here, you're going to have to go tell them to hurry up."

A pause. "Why don't we get Ny-Ny to knock?"

"'Cause they'll just send Ny-Ny back to us, like this morning."

"Uncle Merle?" Etta asked, a little desperately.

More silence as they shuffled back down the hall.

"I guess that's our cue," Daryl said, kissing Michonne on the forehead.

She scoffed. "I don't think so. I can't have these kids thinking they're running things. Let's wait them out a little longer. I'm sure I can find some way to distract you." As she spoke, she moved her hands up and down his back.

A booming voice called out from the distance. "No I aint gon' go nosin' around the bathroom to hurry 'em up. Y'all just leave your Ma and Pa be. Go on now! Hang out in the office and finish with that dumbass TV show y'all had me watchin'."

"Uncle Merle Rules!" Sydney sang and then all three of them laughed at their uncle. Daryl and Michonne laughed along with them.

"Now where were we?" Michonne said, running her fingers through her husband's hair.

Pulling her even tighter to him, he held fast to her waist and smiled. "Right here, Babe." He met her lips in a kiss that counted as one amongst thousands of similar affections. Yet each time felt like the best one.

_Fini_


End file.
